


what's love in French?

by blue_bull



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, How Do I Tag, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, onhonhon i dont speak french so i got help from a gay french person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:28:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28548630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_bull/pseuds/blue_bull
Summary: 1800's French Catradora
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26





	what's love in French?

**Author's Note:**

> thank u Sophie for teaching me french cuss words. i think you'll read this???
> 
> idk man but if you do, tell me how i did bc at literally any given point while writing this, i would've had bags under my eyes and less than 4 hours of sleep
> 
> also thanks to everyone who said they liked what i showed them bc
> 
> i wouldn't've finished it if y'all weren't "thirsty for it", Jezmatron's words, not mine
> 
> but thanks you for the motivation and. constant bugging. mainly from my friend.
> 
> also, Atti, thank you for finding my writing spacing weird. love u lmao

Catra had a relatively easy life. Growing up in a royal bloodline can do that for a person. But now, everything was so much harder. She was stuck balancing new aspects of her life that she wasn’t prepared for. Schooling took up _at least_ 5 hours of her day, training took another 2, and then on top of all that, she took the crown at 18.

The advisory court that she was left with helped her little in making plans for the future of her kingdom and everyone in it. And that included herself, first and foremost. Being so young and yet, so powerful meant that Catra was faced with difficult social and diplomatic choices. She took the royal route in nearly everything and lost many of her childhood friends because of it. One of which was now serving in the very castle that Catra lived in.

This particular servant, of the _many_ that Catra had, was stunning. And though Catra had noticed this fact before, when they were both younger, she thought it better to push away any feelings she had, romantic and platonic alike. And no matter how many times the girl tried to come back into Catra’s life, Catra continued to push her away, until finally, the young woman stopped bothering her soon-to-be queen. Catra pretended not to be bothered by this, although failing miserably, and continued on with her personal work as though to keep her mind off of the lost friendship.

The servant in question wore a, usually flour-covered, grey apron and a long-sleeved, light blue blouse. Every morning, she would be the one to wake Catra with a freshly baked croissant and preserves. Every morning, Catra still has to remind herself that she shouldn’t feel _this way_ over a lowly castle maid, and yet every morning, she still flushes at the powerful sound of wooden soles hitting the marble floor. That sound, though strong, didn’t seem to quite match the woman it belonged to.

Adora. The part of her that matched just how beautiful she was, and the part of her that Catra still loved hearing, was her voice, flowing like honey. The polar opposite from Catra’s rough and raspy tone. More than once, Catra wondered just how the warm voice would sound if-

“My queen, there’s an issue... Uh, are you okay?”

“What?” Catra startled at the voice of her cousin, Admiral Antoine Champlain. She straightened her lounge gown and turned to face him. “Yes, I’m fine. What was it that you needed, Antoine?”

“There’s an issue at the border with the Waste,” the Admiral declared, regaining his professional façade.

“Gods, Champlain, elaborate.”

“Well, uh, Huntara is asking to talk to you. She made the motion for her militia to march when we refused,” he stated, waiting for his cousin’s response.

Catra thought for a moment before waving him away. “Should they decide to come into _my_ lands, they will have another surprise ready for them when they arrive. Prepare the low-level reserves.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Catra’s original train of thought was not lost, but she picked up the telltale sound of Adora walking down the hall to the queen’s quarters. She mentally kicked herself for even wanting anything with the servant. The moment she knocked on the door, Catra welcomed her, making sure she didn’t sound _too_ friendly.

“G’morning, miss! I’ve brought up your usual morning meal,” the flaxen-haired woman said, setting the tray on the night table.

She looked over at Catra with a warm smile and the young queen could’ve sworn she’d seen something other than just warm friendliness in those grey-blue eyes. She chased the thought for a moment before leaving it be and taking the tray from her table. Catra gave a cold smile in return and almost waved Adora away before thinking about how she could get the girl closer to her.

“I’ve been pondering something,” Catra started, almost without realizing it herself.

“Oh?”

Catra flushed slightly as she thought about what she was going to say. “I noticed that you seem to be more attentive to my needs than even your higher-ups. I’d like to know why.”

Adora flushed down her neck before stuttering, “I, uh, I don’t know. I guess I’ve been drawn to you. Putain comment j'explique ça… I can subdue my actions, if that’d be more comfortable for you.”

Catra waved Adora away before she could embarrass herself any more. She tucked into her breakfast. The same spread she’d eaten for only the past two years of her life, starting when she took the throne and had little time to eat in the mornings. It _almost_ made her upset, thinking about the day she got news that her mother died, since one of the other casualties in the accident was Glimmer’s mother, Angella. She thought about it as she finished her drink and let the thought pass as she started on her croissant.

**\------------**

**Two days after Catra’s 18 th birthday, one month before border dispute**

_Catra found herself pacing her room, only hours before the ceremony. After her father was poisoned, she was devastated. Though, she knew what had to be done and she took on her responsibility with utmost grace and care. She stopped walking as she heard her favorite morning sound: the clacking of Adora’s shoes on the light marble flooring of the hallway leading to her own room. Catra straightened her morning robes out and prepared for the routine knocking that came to her door at 8 am. And…there it was. Soft knuckles against the hard wood of her bedroom door. She called for the new servant to enter and fought off a blush as she saw that familiar goofy grin._

_“Good morning, Catra! I brought you a different meal today. I thought you might want to try something different.”_

_Catra flushed down to her chest with the amount of thought and care that went unspoken by the other girl. She took the tray happily and sat back in her bed to eat the small meal. It was nice, though. She didn’t have much time to eat before her coronation, anyway, so the thought Adora put into this was a nice touch to her stressful morning…_

**\------------**

Catra’s cheeks reddened slightly at the memory and she stood up to change into her riding clothes. She decided to let her mind wander back to the place it had been only 20 minutes prior. She thought about any, and every, sound that she might be able to draw from Adora, whether or not she had to fuck her to hear all of them. She walked out of her room, ready for the day and still teasing the thought, when she found herself at the stables.

“’Ello, m’lady,” the stable boy, Bow, says to her. “Fine day you’ve chosen to take a ride, I must say. It’s beautiful. If you’re looking, there’s a cliff just off the path up the mountain that gives a lovely view of the plains.”

Catra gave him a genuine half smile. She liked this young man well enough, though she would never truly admit it to anyone. “I would enjoy a lesiurely ride later today, if it’s not too grim; however, this is not the time for such things. Huntara’s at the border again.”

Bow looked at her with a blank face, save for a trace of slight eagerness, no doubt to be with the queen as she took care of the dispute. “Ah, I see, though I did hear the Officers talking about the issue. It seemed bad. Worse than normal. But that’s not really my business, now is it? Would you like me to get Swiftwind out for this morning?”

Catra nodded and wordlessly turned away to wait for her horse to be saddled and ready to ride. She looked over the Plains district of her kingdom, reveling in the sheer beauty that she ruled over. It was, by no means, small. Having four districts – each fittingly named for what was held within the area – Brightmoon stacked to be about as tall as a small mountain.

The districts were as follows: the Plains district, holding the small family-owned farms and stables within the border, reached all the way to the start of the rocky outcrops of the neighboring mountains. The Business district holds the supply stalls, small shops, the inn, and a suspicious house, which nobody ever seemed to stay in for long. The Wind district for all the residential buildings and a small temple. Catra lives in the Cloud district of Brightmoon, which holds the weapons forge and her Castle.

Catra memorized where each house, stall, and shop was. She knew her kingdom like the back of her hand. She felt confident in knowing all the ins, outs, and shortcuts were. She knew where each of her subjects resided and she knew where each one of them worked. Bow, working with the horses at the stables. Glimmer, now running her parents’ inn, The Gold Flagon. And Adora. Shit, of course she knew where Adora spent her daytime hours. She saw the blonde every day.

“Merde,” Catra cursed under her breath. It was directed at her own thoughts, although Bow heard it.

“What was that, miss?” He looked at her with feigned hurt, laced with amusement at the small expression of discontent.

Catra looked at him, slight irritation veiling her face, though she couldn’t stop a small smile from reaching her lips when she realized that she hadn’t only cursed herself mentally. She apologized to the young man right as he handed her horse to her by the reins. She thanked him and tossed a few pieces of silver his way. Bow pocketed the money and waved her off.

It was only another ten minutes before Catra had arrived at the spot Huntara, along with her militia, had made it to. The Waste’s leader made a face in the direction of the rapidly approaching queen of Brightmoon. Catra was preparing herself for a shouting match with the larger woman, only slowing her approach as she heard Antoine yelling for her from behind. She stopped and turned to face him and scowled as she thought about what he could suggest to her.

The queen went over each “solution” in her head, knowing that at least one of them involved giving in to Huntara’s demands and giving her more land. As her cousin guided his horse to stand next to her own, he looked at her with urgency and explained his suspicions.

“Catra, don’t mention this to her when you talk, but I, along with many others, believe that Huntara may have spies lingering in the Whispering Woods. I didn’t want-” was all he got out before being interrupted.

“You take care of _this_ predicament with the reserves, and I’ll check the woods if you and your friends are so sure of it.” She left it at that and rode away, not intending to even enter the Whispering Woods. "Si je dois faire tout cela moi-même, alors ainsi soit-il."

She was on her way back home when a thought crossed her mind and urged her to turn to the woods to search. Not long after she entered the heavy shadows and thick underbrush, Catra found obvious sets of footprints, one of them looking to belong to a large cat and the other set likely belonging to a fairly small person. She wondered how a small person could handle guiding such a large animal, but quickly pushed the thought away and continued following the prints, which lead to a stash of various substances. She dismounted Swiftwind and gathered the vials and bags in the side satchel of the saddle.

After not finding anything else, Catra mounted he steed and headed towards the officers’ barracks to leave her findings to the officers. She left without a word to think about what exactly she found and what this could mean. She knew that someone in the neighboring kingdoms had access to poisons and it was most likely someone in the Waste, based on how and where they were being stored. This also means that there’s been someone in the Whispering Woods since her dad was killed.

Catra thought for only a second before coming to the realization that she may end up with the same fate as her father. She deliberated that for a bit longer and finally dropped it, deciding that, if she was worth killing, then the person tasked with taking her out would have to get their hands on more of their contraband to do so. She left her horse in front of the stables with the stable master and walked around to the back of the building to find Bow and, possibly, Adora.

Catra enjoyed talking to Adora, even just the brief words they shared. Her smile never failed to cheer Catra up. She got a warm feeling as she heard the warm voice coming from behind the stables and quickened her pace a bit to make sure she caught the blue-eyed woman. When she turned the corner, the three people immediately stopped talking. Catra earnes a glare from the shortest of the trio, Glimmer. Adora’s eyes fell on her, full of confusion, but laced with an emotion that Catra can’t quite place. Bow’s gaze flicked between her, Adora, and Glimmer, also clearly confused.

“What the _fuck_ do you want?” Catra looked in the direction that the voice was coming from and immediately realized her mistake, as Glimmer locked her with a hard stare that she hasn’t seen since she became the queen of Brightmoon.

**\------------**

**8 months prior**

_Catra caught herself staring at Adora for the third time that day. But what could she do to help it? The girl was beautiful. Who_ wouldn’t _want to stare? Adora looked over at Catra and smiled a dorky grin, hiding the sadness that may have lingered behind her eyes. Not long before, there was news that Angella, Glimmer’s mom, had been caught in an explosion at the ammunitions shop belonging to Catra’s own mother, Shadow Weaver. Even though Weaver was caught in the explosion as well, she felt nothing. She couldn’t even bring herself to fake a few tears._

_Catra thought about how close the other two girls were, though only ever ending with jealousy towards Glimmer. She shouldn’t envy a shopkeep. She’s the princess of Brightmoon, not some plebeian in the Plains district, struggling to keep their farm up and running. And yet, she still found herself wondering what it was like in the younger girl’s shoes…_

**\------------**

Catra stared back at the shorter girl, having expected the outburst. “I was, uh, looking to talk to Adora, if that’s okay with her,” she explained. She looked over at the golden-haired girl in question, immediately getting lost in those azure eyes. Adora broke eye contact first and fixed her friend with a glare that told her to quit talking.

“Uh, yeah. That’s…okay. Glimmer, leave her be.” Adora grabbed Catra’s hand as she walked away from the scene that was now starting behind them. Minutes later, they were under the forge, neither of them speaking.

“So, I was thinking about school. You know, when I still went with you, Glimmer, and Bow,” Catra started, her anxiety spiking through the roof. “I guess I just wanted to know if you ever liked me? It’s a weird question, you don’t have to answer, but I was thinking about everything I’ve done, and what I want to do, and I ended up back at you so many times. And this morning, I acted so cold towards you and I just felt bad.”

Catra continued on like that, maundering on for another minute before Adora flicked her forehead. “Etheria to Catra? Hello-”

“Ow, hey! What was _that_ for?”

“You were rambling. I’ve been trying to get your attention back for the past two minutes,” Adora stated, her tone sounding like she was stating the obvious. “You mentioned something about a crush. I can answer that honestly by saying, yes. I did take a bit of a liking to you, and more than what was probably appropriate, given that you were the next in line as Brightmoon’s ruler.”

Catra was dumbfounded and her expression didn’t hide it. She recovered and continued talking, slower this time, and explained why she asked.

**\------------**

**15 years old**

_Catra was wandering the streets before her birthday party, knowing that she wouldn’t get time to sneak out of the castle ballroom to hang out with her friends. She was looking for Adora when she heard a distinct snorting laugh come from behind The Gold Flagon. She chuckled lightly to herself and turned in that direction. When she turned around the corner of the building, she was a little surprised at what was revealed to her: a furiously blushing Glimmer, Bow, who was trying to hold in a laugh, and Adora. The blonde-haired girl was nearly on the ground from laughing so hard and it instantly made Catra’s cheeks turn a light pink._

_She joined in the laughing, and asked Bow what was going on, though to no avail. She turned to Glimmer who turned away from Catra the second they made eye contact. Catra helped, the now fallen, Adora to her feet after her fit of cackling ended._

_“You can’t be serious. You like her?”_

_Glimmer blushed even darker, which Catra hadn’t thought was possible. “Shut up, Adora! You like her, too, so don’t try to play it off like it’s so unusual and taboo.”_

_Adora immediately stiffened and flipped off the shorter girl. Catra didn’t probe any further into the conversation and brought up her party…_

**\------------**

Adora flushed slightly at the mention of the memory and tried to brush it off as if it were nothing. Catra caught that and thought it over for a second before starting to cackle.

“You really liked me, even then? Come _on_ , Adora. Raise your standards.”

“Oh, be quiet. You’re definitely one to talk, since you’re part of the royal family. I knew you liked me for the longest time and just didn’t admit it. And I thought that _I_ was being obvious.” Adora finished her statement with a chuckle and Catra thought it was the gentlest thing she’d ever heard. Catra flushed at the thought and excused herself and said goodbye before making her way back to her room.

She had a few hours before dinner to sit and mull over her and Adora’s conversation. She laid face down in her cashmere duvet and groaned deeply. She stays like that for a while longer than she intends to and dozes off. She wakes with a start when she hears a knock at her door.

“Uh, come in?” Catra’s unsure of who could want anything from her at this hour, but she doesn’t worry about it anymore. Though, she does get a bit more anxious when she sees Admiral Champlain enter the room.

“My apologies, but we’ve captured Huntara’s spy and have held them for questioning in the barracks. Would you like to view their interrogation?”

“Of course, I want to, dumbfuck. Not like I have anything better to do other than wallow in my own emotions. Fetch me my cloak from the Great Hall. I’m feeling a little…festive,” she said with a devious grin.

Antoine left and came back within minutes with her ceremonial cloak in hand. He handed it to her and left her to change. Moments later, she walked out of her room with her crown on and wrapped in a silk burgundy cloak with red accents. As she passed Adora in the street, she saw the faintest hint on red on the woman’s cheeks. She took that as an opportunity to sway her hips with more exaggeration and, to her delight, the blonde flushed down to her shoulders and looked away.

With what Catra knew now, she was sure going to milk it for all she could. She also took a moment to ponder giving Adora a higher position, even if it’s only so that they’re closer throughout the days. After deciding on a yes, she turned away from the furiously blushing Adora to head towards the barracks.

When they arrived at the cell where the new prisoner was being held, Catra thought about handling the interrogation herself, with how small the Waste spy was. They had olive skin, almost green, and wore a tight, black one-piece with boots. She was just getting over with her first impression of the _character_ when she heard them say something, almost sounding delighted.  
“Oh! You got all dressed up for little old me? How thoughtful of you, miss Catarina, queen of Brightmoon. I’m Double Trouble, but I’ll let you call me DT,” they said with a wide, shit-eating grin.

Catra stiffened when she heard them mention her full name. She turned on them with a scowl. “ _What_ did you just call me?”

“Awe, I’m _dearly_ sorry. Is that a sore spot, _kitten_?”

Catra nearly set to beating them with her own hands when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She turned to see a familiar soft face and calmed down immensely. Adora looked at her with slight concern and pulled the queen away from the scene to the castle.

**\------------**

**2 hours before Catra’s father dies, a week before her coronation**

_“Dad, what do you want for dinner tonight?”_

_“I don’t know, little cub. How about you choose?”_

_Catra didn’t know what would happen in the hour after she ate with her father, Lewis. She didn’t know that the last words he would utter would be to her._

**Minutes before Lewis dies**

_“Take care of Brightmoon, Catarina, but don’t forget your friends. They have your back.”_

_“No, dad, I can’t do this alone,” Catra responded, tears in her eyes. “Don’t leave me. You can’t do this. Please, dad, stay awake.”_

_“You can. I believe in you.” He squeezed his daughter’s hand tight before falling into an endless slumber. Catra looked back at his face. It was gentle and soft, like it had always been when he looked at his only child. She bowed her head into her father’s arm before wiping her eyes. She placed his hand over his chest and turned away, eyes watering again._

_She had to do this now. For him. For herself. For Brightmoon._

**\------------**

Catra found herself back in her quarters, although she didn’t know how she had gotten there. She turned her head when she heard a warm voice coming from directly next to her. Adora was there, holding her like they were 14 years old again, after Catra had a panic attack. She didn’t tell Adora to stop touching her or to go away. She let herself be held and cry.

After another half hour, Catra sat up and faced Adora. Embarrassed as she was, she was grateful for the other woman. Without thinking, Catra wrapped Adora in a hug and thanked her multiple times.

“It’s really not a problem, Catra. I don’t mind it and you know that,” Adora had said, though Catra still felt guilty about the whole situation.

She asked Adora to leave for a bit so she could compose herself. When her friend left, Catra went to her closet to pick a new set of robes to have dinner in. After changing, she sat on the bed and wallowed in her mixed emotions, not knowing what else to do about anything. Knowing that Adora was still outside her door, she quieted herself before sobbing for a while longer.

Catra woke up at around 10 pm with red, puffy eyes. She stirred a bit and heard a soft know at the door, no doubt belonging to Adora. She welcomed the woman in and sat up in her bed, waiting for her to approach. When Adora finally _did_ walk over, she grabbed Catra’s hands and pulled her up off the bed. Catra was confused as Adora pulled her closer and started to speak.

“You remember the talk we had earlier? I want to continue it, if that’s okay with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> there's chapter 1, idk when 2 will be up, but eat your food before i give you more.
> 
> chapter 2 is. not yet outlined at this time of me putting this up, so give me like
> 
> idk a week? 2 weeks? man, just give me time bc i can and will get distracted with. reading fics that my friends wrote.
> 
> thanks y'all see ya.......within the month...


End file.
